[Jeff Higgins]

What a shame about the campers. I couldn't imagine going on vacation and having it wind up like that. My heart goes out to them and their families.

Camping in bear country is very serious business. I have to wonder how many of Yellowstone's visitors really understand that. Hell, I have to wonder how many of its rangers even understand that anymore. I simply cannot imagine going into bear country unarmed, yet the modern mentality surrounding places like Yellowstone is that it is not only prudent to do so, but even mandatory to do so. Thank God the law against arming one's self in national parks has been repealed. Even at that, I'll betcha a new hat no one in that camp was armed. Granted, it would not have helped the first guy, but if hubby had been armed, the bear might have been persuaded to stop when it went after his wife.

Anyway, maybe I'm a bit overly keyed in to this issue. Maybe I'm making more of it than there is. That said, this line from the article really stood out for me:

The latest attack left residents and visitors to this national park satellite community on edge. Many people were carrying bear spray — a pepper-based deterrent more commonly seen in Yellowstone's backcountry than on the streets of Cooke City.

Bear spray my ass. While I'm sure some might be carrying bear spray, I'm also relatively certain that at least an equal number, if not far more of Cooke City's residents are carrying firearms. Why would that not be mentioned? Why does that seem to be so taboo these days?

Seems this mentality keeps costing people their lives. I'm not saying a firearm is some magic cure-all that will absolutely keep one safe in bear country, but they certainly don't hurt. They provide a very good option, a very good "last line of defense", should it all go wrong. I think it is incredibly irresponsible for anyone, much less the authorities that most folks look to for guidance, to discourage the carrying of firearms in bear country.